Piper Sandler Reiterates “Overweight” Rating for Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by investment analysts at Piper Sandler in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $18.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $13.00. Piper Sandler’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.99% from the company’s previous close.

UPWK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Upwork from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on Upwork from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Upwork Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $15.93 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.99. Upwork has a 1 year low of $8.43 and a 1 year high of $17.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 3.00.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.05 million. Upwork had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 23.59%. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $99,823.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,178,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,460,444.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $99,823.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,178,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,460,444.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $196,406.45. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,570.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,783 shares of company stock worth $1,800,221 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Upwork by 5.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,996,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,115,000 after purchasing an additional 770,088 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Upwork by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 3,320,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,700,000 after acquiring an additional 822,518 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Upwork by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,806,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,424,000 after acquiring an additional 389,006 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Upwork by 71.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,635,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,572,000 after acquiring an additional 679,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its stake in Upwork by 132.5% during the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 964,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,826,000 after purchasing an additional 549,733 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Upwork

Upwork Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a work marketplace that connects businesses with various independent professionals and agencies in the United States, India, the Philippines, and internationally. The company’s work marketplace provides access to talent with various skills across a range of categories, including administrative support, sales and marketing, design and creative, and customer service, as well as web, mobile, and software development.